Arrow-light for automobiles.



W. H. VON OTTO. ARROW LIGHT FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLICATION FILED'DEC. I4. 1814.

Patented May 9,1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Guam;

W. H. VON OTTO.

ARROW LIGHT FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLICATION- men use. ('4. 1914. 1,182,062. Patented. May 9,1916.

WILLIAM H. VON OTTO, 0F CINCINNATI, OHIO.

ARROW-LIGHT FOR AUTOMOBILES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 9. 1916.

Application fil ed December 14, 1914. Serial N 0. 877,201.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. Von OTTO, a citizen "of the United States, resid-. ing at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio; have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Arrow-Lights for Automobiles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an' improvedvisible signal for an automobile and the principal object of the invention is to rovide a signal of the character descrlbed which will be in the form of an illuminated arrow movably mounted to swing from one side to the-other and thus indicate the direction in which the automobile is going to Another object of the invention is to so construct the signal that it may be operated by hand or by electricity.

Another object of the invention is to pro-,

vide an improved means for mounting the arrow upon the bulb socket, the arrow bein so constructed that its lower portion wil form a reflector to throw the light of the electric bulb uponthe arrow proper.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the device that the actuating handle for the forward signal may constitute a switch arm for closing the circuit to swing the rear indicating arrow in the proper direction.

This invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a view showing an automobile in front elevation with the improved signal mounted upon the wind guard, Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing the forward signal principally in section but partially in side elevation, Fig. 3 is a view of the inner collar which is rigidly mounted upon the electric bulb socket, Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 and illustrates the outer collar which clamps the arrow against the inner collar, Fig. 5 is'a view in elevation showing a form of actuating means for the rear signal, Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view through the structure shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a View in elevation showingthe switch which controls the passage of electricity through the solenoids of the rear signal. Fig. 8 is a diagram of the electric circuit controlling themechanism shown in Fi s. 5 and 6.'

eferring to the drawings which illustrate the signal in use it' will be seen that the forward signal indicated in general by the "numeral 10 and the rear signal indicated in general by the numeral 11 are mounted upon the automobile 12 at any suitable or convenient place. In the illustrations the forward signal l0'is mounted upon the wind guard and .the', rear signal 'is positioned as shown in Fig; 5 but it is understood that these signals can be placed at any convenient position upon the machine according to the fancy of the person installing them. The forward signal is rotatably mounted in the bearing 13 ofthe ournal bracket 14 which may be carried y the wind shield or may be-secured to the hood of the automobile. 15 is rotatably mounted in the bearing 13 and carries the collar "16 which is rigidly secured upon its outer end ortion byany suitable means such as sol er or the like and is provided with depressions forming points 17 engaging the pin 18. This pin 18 is slidably mounted in a pocket formed n the bearing '13 and is yieldably held in its normal'position by the spring 19 mounted in the inner end portion of the socket 18. After the socket 15 has been passed The light socket through the bearings 13 the cup 20 of the handle 21 is placed upon the inner end portlon of the socket and is secured thereto by means of the set screw 22 so that when upper end portion enlarged to form a back ground 26 which is preferably painted a diiferent color from the arrow. For isstance the arrow 23 as shown in Fig. 1 might be painted red and the background white. The lower end portion of the blank from which the arrow is formed is also enlarged and is stamped or otherwise bent to form cup-shaped reflector 27 which extends a partially about the light bulb 28 and thus causes the light of the bulb to be thrown upon the arrow. If it is desired to operate this front signal independent of the rear signal which will be later described the front signal will be mounted as shown in socket by means of the wires 29 to engage suitable'contact (not shown) the socket 15. If the automobile 'is to make a turn the handle will be turned @to swing the arrow carried by in the direction in which the automobile is going to turn until the central point 17 has moved out of engagement with the pin 18 and its place has been taken by one of the side points 17. If

the machine is traveling at night time a suitable switch willbe moved to permit the electric current to pass through the wires 29 to illuminate the bulb 28 and therefore the arrow will be'illuminated and a person in front of the machine can readily tell which way the automobile is going to turn either for going on to a side street or for indicating upon which side of the person the automobile is going to pass. This will therefore prevent the danger of persons becoming confused and being struck by an automobile' It. is also desirable to have the driver of an automobile to the rear of your machine know which way you are going to turn when reaching a corner and also for him to know when you intend to swing into the curb. Therefore the rear signal shown in Figs. 5 and 6has been provided. This signal somewhat sim'lar to the front signal already described but is operated in a different manner, the operating mechanism being shown'in Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8.

In order to have the rear arrow work simultaneously with the forward arrow the lever 53 of the handle 21 will be removed and a switch arm 54 provided in place thereof. As the arm is moved to swing the arrow 23 in a desired direction the arm will bebrought into engagement with a selected contact point shown in Fig. 7, these contact points being indicated by the numerals 93 and 94 and 93' and 94:. The proper solenoid will then be energized to swing the rear arrowtoward one side of the machine thus indicating the direction in which the machine is going to turn and when the front arrow is returned to its normal position the solenoid 82 will be energized to return the rear arrow to its normal position.

The solenoid 67 and the solenoid 68 are mounted-in a frame 69 which is secured to a convenient place upon the rear of the automobile. These solenoids are positioned at opposite ends of the track 70which track may be formed integral with the frame or if desired may be formed separate from the frame and secured by any suitable means. The rack .71 which travels in the track 70 is connected with the cores 72 and 73 of the two solenoids so that when the solenoids are energized the rack will move longitudinally.

The lamp socket 74 is rotatably mounted in the bearing 75 of the bearin and is provided with a collar 7 towhich the arrow 78 is secured and with a reduced inner end upon which the gear or pinion 79 is mounted. This arrow 78 is provided with a reflector 80 so that the light of the bulb 81 will be thrown upon the arrow. From an inspection of Figs. 5 and 6 it will be readily seen that the gear or pinion 79 meshes with the teeth of the rack 71 and that therefore whenthe rack is moved by one of the solenoids 67 or 68 the gear will be rotated and thusrotate the socket to change the angle of th arrow. I

The means of--return mg the indicatingarrow to the normal p0 ion includes a solenoid 82 which is mounted in the frame 69 above the solenoid 68 and has its core 83 connected with a rack 84 moving in a track 85 mounted in the upper portion of the frame and is positioned above the; track '70. This rack 84 of course meshes with the.

teeth of the gear 79 so that when the solenoid 82. is energized the socket will be movedand the arrow returnedto-the, original position. In orderto permit the core 83 to have the proper amount of movement inwardly a cap 86 is screwed intothe frame 69 to register with the central opening of the solenoid 82 and thus inclose the end of the core 83 when the position shown in Fig. 5. 1 p

Referring to Fig. 8 it will be seen that the solenoids 67 and 68 are connected by a line wire 87 which is provided with a branch 88 leading to the source of power 90 which may be a battery or may be the magneto or motor of the automobile. Wires 91 and 92 lead from the inner ends of the solenoids and are connected with the switch points 93 and 94. Therefore if the switch arm 95 which leads from the wire 96 is moved to the switch point 93 the solenoid 67 will be.

energized and the indicating arrows swung in one direction through the medium of the rack and gear already mentioned and if the switch arm is moved into engagement with the switch point 94the solenoid 68 will be energized to swing the arrow in the opposite direction.v After the arrow has been swung in one direction it is desired to have the arrow returned to the vertical position and therefore the switch points 93 and 94 have been provided. The solenoid 82-is connected with the switch point 94 by means of a wire 97 and with the point 93 by means of the branch wire 98. Therefore when the switch arm 95 is moved from the points 93 and 94 toward the normal position shown in Fig. 8 in which position no circuit will be established the arm will engage the switch point 93' or the switch point 94' and core is in the bracket 76 thus energize the solenoid 82 which is connected with the wire 87 by means of the wire 99.

I have therefore provided a signal which is very simple in construction and which is very easy to operate. I have also provided a signal which can behand operated or in which the rear signal may be operated by electric current thrown into action by the turning of the front signal. It will also be noted that this device is'so constructed that it may be installed upon machines'which are already in use andthat the signal may be placed in any desired position upon the body portion of the car according to the Wishes ofthe person installing the same.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A signal comprising a rotatable memher, indicating means carried by said rotatable member, a slidably mounted rack, a

gear carried by said rotatable member and engaging said rack, electrically controlled means for moving said rack in one direction from a normal position, electrically controlled means for moving said rack in the opposite direction from a normal position, a second rack engaging said gear, and electrically controlled means for moving said second rack to return said rotatable member and first mentioned rack to their normal positions.

2. A signal, a support, a pivot shaft, indicating means carried by said pivot-shaft, a gear carried by said pivot shaft, a rack en- I gaging said gear, solenoids having their cores connected with opposite ends of said rack, a second rack engaging said gear, and a. solenoid having ts core connected with 40 one end of the second'rack.

3. In-a signal of the character described a frame, a track carried by said frame, a rack slidably mountedin said track. a rotatable member, a gear carried by said memher and meshing with the teeth of said rack,

-oppositely disposed solenoids carried by said frame and having their cores connected with said rack, and means engaging said gear for returning said rotatable member and rack to their normal positions. a

4. In a signal of the character described a frame, a track carried by said frame, a rack slidably mounted in said track, solenoids having their cores connected with op- I Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the posite end portions of said raclsa second track carried by said frame, a rack carried by said second track, a rotatable member positioned between said rack and provided with a gear meshing with the teeth of said rack, a solenoid having its core connected 'with said second rack, and a piston for energizing said solenold including circuits tudinally when the solenoids are energized,

a solenoid connected with the second rack for moving the same longitudinally when the last mentioned solenoid is energized, means for selectively energizing said first mentioned solenoids and means for energizing said last mentioned solenoid when the circuit through the selected one of said,

first mentioned solenoids is broken.

6. In a signal of the character described the frame, a bearing bracket extending from said frame, a rotatable member mounted in said bearing, a gear carried by said rotatable member, racks slidably connected with said frame and engaging saidgear, electrically'actuated means connected with opposite end portions of one of said racks for moving the same longitudinally, means for selectively energizing said last mentioned means, electrically actuated means for moving the second rack longitudinally, and means for creating a circuit through said last mentioned means when the circuit through the selected first mentioned means is broken.

In testimony whereof I ai'nx my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM H. VON OTTO.

Witnesses: I

HARRY P. Mnrrono, WM. J. Sornnn.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. O. 

